on boxing has been received induces me to puttogether a few ideas on the subject of attack and defence with weapons other than those withwhich nature has endowed us.A glance at the table of contents will suffice to show that the scope of the work has beensomewhat extended, and that, though there is of course a vast deal more to be said on the widesubject of self-defence, an attempt has been made to give practical hints as to what may beeffected by a proper and prompt use of those common accessories which we may find in our hands at almost any hour in the day. Not having leisure to take in hand the whole of the work myself, I asked my friend Mr. C.Phillipps-Wolley to make himself responsible for that portion of the treatise which deals withsingle-stick play. This he kindly consented to do, and those of my readers who wish to make aspecial study of stick-play, I refer to p. 50 to p. 85 inclusive. The illustrations in this portion of the work are from photographs by the London Stereoscopic Company; all the other illustrationsare from my own sketches.THE AUTHOR.

Our neighbours on the other side of the English Channel have been accused of calling us a“nation of shopkeepers.” No doubt the definition is not bad; and, so long as the goods supplied bear the hall-mark of British integrity, there is nothing to be ashamed of in the appellation; still,with all due deference, I think we might more appropriately be called a nation of sportsmen.There is not an English boy breathing at this moment who does not long to be at some sport or game, and who has not his pet idea of the channel into which he will guide his sporting proclivities when he is a man. There are not many grown Englishmen who don’t think they knowsomething about a horse, would not like to attend a good assault-at-arms, or who are not pleasedwhen they hear of their sons’ prowess with the oar, the bat, or the gloves.

[Pg 2]

I may be quite mistaken, but it always seems to me that the well-brought-up little foreign boy is too unwholesomely good and gentle to fight the battle of life. Still, such little boys

do

grow up brave and clever men, and they

do

, taken collectively, make splendid soldiers.Then, as to sports, foreigners seem to put too much pomp and circumstance into their efforts in pursuit of game; the impedimenta and general accoutrements are overdone; but here again I may be wrong.Of one thing we may be quite sure, and that is that the majority of Englishmen are devoted tosport of

some kind

. One of the prettiest little compliments you can pay a man is to call him “agood old sportsman.”When, in addition to the advantages of a national sport or collection of national sports, such as boxing, sword exercises, wrestling, etc., you recognize the possibility that the games you have been indulging in with your friends in playful contests may at almost any moment be utilized for defeating your enemies and possibly saving your life, you are forced to the conclusion that thereare some sports at least which can be turned to practical account.Unfortunately there are individuals, possibly in the small minority, who regard anything likefighting as brutal or ungentlemanly. In a sense—a very limited sense—they may be right, for,though our environment is such that we can never rest in perfect security, it does seem hard thatwe should have to be constantly on the alert to protect that which we think is ours by right, andours alone.However this may be, let us be men

first

, and aristocrats, gentlemen, or anything else you please,

afterwards

. If we are not men, in the larger and better sense of the word, let there be no talk of gentle blood or lengthy pedigree. The nation is what it is through the pluck and energy of

[Pg 3]

individuals who have put their shoulders to the wheel in bygone days—men who have laid thefoundation of a glorious empire by sturdy personal efforts—efforts, unaided by the state,emanating from those higher qualities of the character, relying on itself, and on itself alone, for success or failure.From the earliest times, and in the most primitive forms of animal life, physical efforts to obtainthe mastery have been incessant.